Lackawanna Steel Company
Historical American iron and steel manufacturer that helped establish Scranton, Pennsylvania, pioneered large-scale domestic rail production, and later operated as a Bethlehem Steel subsidiary.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Lackawanna Steel Company was a major American iron and steel enterprise whose origins lay in an 1840 blast-furnace partnership established by George W. Scranton and Seldon T. Scranton in the Lackawanna Valley of Pennsylvania. The enterprise developed around anthracite coal, local iron resources, and the emerging hot-blast method of iron smelting. Its early years were difficult: the first furnace suffered from inadequate heat, unreliable water power, blocked air passages, uncertain raw-material mixtures, and persistent quality problems. After financial restructuring and additional investment, the company began producing useful quantities of pig iron and expanded into rolling, nails, spikes, and related iron products. The company’s decisive early breakthrough came when it turned toward railroad rails. In 1846–1847, after attracting investment from figures including Benjamin Loder and William E. Dodge, the business installed a rail-rolling mill and became the first American producer to manufacture T rails on a mass-production basis. Its rails supplied the expanding Erie Railroad and helped reduce the United States’ reliance on imported British track. The works also became the industrial nucleus of the settlement that was renamed Scranton in 1851. As the ironworks expanded, the surrounding community grew rapidly and developed into an important industrial city. During the 1850s the enterprise adopted the name Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company and pursued vertical integration. It controlled or developed furnaces, mines, rolling and puddling facilities, foundries, workshops, worker housing, and transportation interests. Its railroad investments contributed to the creation of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, improving access to coal supplies and markets. A second generation of the Scranton family later managed the business, with William Walker Scranton becoming an important operating and family-business leader. Technological competition eventually forced another transformation. European producers using the Bessemer process were making higher-quality steel rails at lower cost. William Walker Scranton studied steelmaking practices in Britain and Germany, and, with support from Moses Taylor, persuaded the company to adopt Bessemer technology in 1875. The first Bessemer blow took place on October 23, 1875, followed by the first Bessemer steel rolled at the works in December. The company subsequently operated as a large integrated steel producer and, after a 1881 breakaway venture led by William and Walter Scranton, the related businesses were recombined in 1891 as Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. Labor conflict was a recurring feature of the Pennsylvania operation. Wage reductions contributed to the 1871 mine strike, which involved strikebreaking, violence, militia intervention, and the prosecution of William Walker Scranton. The company’s workers also participated in the wider labor upheaval of 1877. A violent confrontation in Scranton led to deaths and injuries, the deployment of federal troops, and the eventual collapse of the strike without a durable settlement. These events became part of the broader history of industrial labor relations in the coal and steel regions. At the end of the nineteenth century, the company concluded that the Scranton area imposed disadvantages for a modern, large-scale steelworks, including constrained space, transportation limitations, and changing access to raw materials and markets. It relocated major operations to a site near Buffalo, New York, in the town of West Seneca. The move, completed in the early twentieth century, led to the development of a new industrial community that became the city of Lackawanna. The Buffalo-area works were designed around lake and rail transportation and became one of the largest steel plants in the United States. The independent Lackawanna Steel Company was acquired by Bethlehem Steel in 1922. Under Bethlehem ownership, the Lackawanna works continued producing steel products for American industrial and transportation markets, although the company no longer operated as an independent corporate group. The plant survived for decades through changes in steel technology, demand, and ownership structure. Bethlehem Steel finally closed the Lackawanna works in 1983, ending the company’s industrial operations after more than a century of development. The site’s history remains significant for the growth of Scranton, the founding of Lackawanna, the rise of integrated American steelmaking, and the labor conflicts that accompanied nineteenth-century industrialization.
History
The company began in 1840 when George W. and Seldon T. Scranton joined William Henry and other investors to establish an anthracite-fueled hot-blast ironworks in the Lackawanna Valley. The first furnace, completed in 1841, experienced technical and financial difficulties, but the enterprise achieved sustained pig-iron production after repeated rebuilding and a capital infusion. Reorganizations in the 1840s brought in new investors and shifted the business toward products needed by the rapidly expanding American railroad system. The installation of a rail mill enabled the company to produce T rails commercially from 1847, making it an important early supplier to the Erie Railroad and a pioneer of domestic mass rail production. The surrounding settlement grew alongside the works and took the name Scranton in 1851. In 1853 the business became Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, expanding into mines, furnaces, steelmaking equipment, workshops, housing, and transportation. Its railroad interests helped form the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, an example of the vertical integration common among nineteenth-century coal and iron enterprises. The company adopted the Bessemer process in 1875 after European competition exposed the limitations of older methods. William Walker Scranton played a major role in promoting the change after studying foreign steelmaking. The first Bessemer blow occurred in October 1875, and the first Bessemer steel was rolled later that year. Labor disputes accompanied the company’s growth, including the violent 1871 strike and the major 1877 conflict in Scranton, during which local and federal forces were used to restore order. A dispute over expansion led William Walker Scranton to establish Scranton Steel Company with his brother Walter in 1881. The two interests were reunited in 1891 as Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. Around the turn of the century, management decided to move the principal works from Pennsylvania to the Buffalo area. The relocation to West Seneca, New York, took advantage of better transportation and industrial geography and stimulated the creation of Lackawanna, New York. Bethlehem Steel acquired the independent company in 1922. The Lackawanna works then operated as part of Bethlehem’s integrated steel network until the plant closed in 1983. The company’s legacy includes the industrial development of Scranton and Lackawanna, early American rail manufacturing, adoption of Bessemer steelmaking, and a substantial record of nineteenth-century labor conflict.
- 1983
Lackawanna works close
[1]Bethlehem Steel shut the Lackawanna plant, ending the company’s steelmaking operations.
- 1922
Acquired by Bethlehem Steel
[1]The independent company became part of Bethlehem Steel’s corporate system.
- 1902
Major works move to the Buffalo area
[1]The company relocated its principal steel operations from the Scranton region to West Seneca, New York.
- 1891
Related Scranton steel interests reunified
[1]Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company and Scranton Steel Company merged to form Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company.
- 1875
Bessemer steelmaking introduced
[1]The company produced its first Bessemer blow in October and rolled its first Bessemer steel later in the year.
- 1853
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company established
[1]A reorganization expanded the business and formalized its integrated iron, coal, and transportation interests.
- 1851
The surrounding settlement is renamed Scranton
[1]The industrial community around the works adopted the name Scranton, reflecting the company’s central role in local development.
- 1847
Mass production of T rails begins
[1]The works began producing railroad T rails and became an early major domestic supplier to American railroads.
- 1841
First blast furnace completed
[1]The new hot-blast furnace began operations, although early production was affected by technical and financial problems.
- 1840
Anthracite ironworks founded
[1]George W. and Seldon T. Scranton joined partners to establish an ironmaking enterprise in the Lackawanna Valley of Pennsylvania.
Products and positioning
Integrated American iron and steel producer serving railroads, industrial customers, and infrastructure markets.
Ironmaking · 1843
Pig iron
Pig iron was the company’s principal early output. The original blast-furnace operation was designed to exploit anthracite coal and local iron resources, and production improved after repeated technical adjustments and investment.
Railroad steel · 1847
T rails
The company’s early rail mill produced T-shaped railroad rails for expanding American railways. Beginning in 1847, this line helped establish domestic mass production of rail track and reduced dependence on imported British rails.
Steel rails · 1875
Bessemer steel rails
After adopting the Bessemer process in 1875, the company manufactured higher-quality steel rails more efficiently than older iron-based methods allowed. The change was a response to European competition and the growing technical requirements of railroads.
Industrial steel products
Structural and rolled steel
The integrated works produced rolled iron and steel products for industrial and infrastructure customers. Its facilities included rolling mills, furnaces, foundries, and related manufacturing operations serving the American market.
Iron hardware · 1843
Nails and spikes
Early operations included nail and spike manufacturing alongside pig iron and plate production. These products complemented the company’s railroad and general construction business during its Pennsylvania period.
Controversies
1877
Scranton strike violence during the Great Railroad Strike era
Steel, mine, and railroad workers struck for higher wages during the prolonged depression. A violent confrontation in Scranton left several people dead and many injured, prompted federal troop deployment, and ended the strike without a lasting agreement.
1871
Lackawanna labor conflict and strikebreaking violence
A wage reduction in the coal mines contributed to a strike by mine workers. William Walker Scranton personally led strikebreakers, violence followed, state militia were deployed, and he was twice arrested before being acquitted.
Brand decisions
1922
Acquisition by Bethlehem SteelM&ABackground
The Lackawanna enterprise was no longer an independent steel group after the transaction.
Action taken
Bethlehem Steel acquired Lackawanna Steel Company and operated the works as a subsidiary.
Aftermath
The plant continued operating within Bethlehem Steel until its closure in 1983.
1902
Relocate the principal steelworks to western New YorkStrategyBackground
The Scranton-area operation faced constraints associated with its location and changing industrial logistics.
Action taken
The company moved major steelmaking operations to West Seneca near Buffalo, New York.
Aftermath
The relocation stimulated the development of Lackawanna, New York, and created a large Buffalo-area steelworks.
1875
Adopt the Bessemer processStrategyBackground
European steelmakers were producing superior rails at lower cost, exposing the limitations of the company’s older methods.
Action taken
William Walker Scranton and Moses Taylor persuaded the owners to install Bessemer steelmaking facilities.
Aftermath
The company produced its first Bessemer steel in 1875 and strengthened its position as a large rail and steel producer.
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